Microbial Oxidation of Hydrocarbons and Related Compounds by Whole-Cell Suspensions of the Methane-Oxidizing Bacterium H-2

Previously, a thermophilic obligate methane-oxidizing bacterium, H-2 (type I), was isolated in our laboratory. H-2 is a new type of methylotroph because of the G+C content of DNA; it uses both the ribulose monophosphate pathway and the serine pathway for carbon assimilation and possesses a new quinone. In addition, we found that resting cell suspensions of H-2 had the ability to oxidize a variety of compounds different from the other methane-oxidizing bacteria as follows. (i) C₁ to C₈n-alkanes are hydroxylated and further oxidized, yielding mixtures of the corresponding alcohols, aldehydes, acids, and ketones. Liquid alkanes are transformed through a different oxidative pathway from that of gaseous ones. (ii) Both gaseous (C₂ to C₄) and liquid (C₅, C₆) n-alkenes are oxidized to their corresponding 1,2-epoxides. (iii) Liquid monochloro and dichloro n-alkanes (C₅, C₆) are oxidized, yielding their corresponding acids or haloacids. (iv) Diethyl ether is oxidized to acetic acid; no ethanol and acetaldehyde are detected. (v) Cyclic and aromatic compounds are also oxidized. (vi) Secondary alcohols (C₃ to C₁₀) are oxidized to their corresponding methyl ketones.     

Generation of high-affinity antibody against T cell-dependent antigen in the Ganp gene-transgenic mouse

Generation of high-affinity Ab is impaired in mice lacking germinal center-associated DNA primase (GANP) in B cells. In this study, we examined the effect of its overexpression in ganp transgenic C57BL/6 mice (Ganp(Tg)). Ganp(Tg) displayed normal phenotype in B cell development, serum Ig levels, and responses against T cell-independent Ag; however, it generated the Ab with much higher affinity against nitrophenyl-chicken gammaglobulin in comparison with C57BL/6. To further examine the affinity increase, we established hybridomas producing high-affinity mAbs and compared their affinities using BIAcore. C57BL/6 generated high-affinity anti-nitrophenyl mAbs (K(D) approximately 2.50 x 10(-7) M) of IgG1/lambda1 and contained the V(H)186.2 region with W33L mutation. Ganp(Tg) generated much higher affinity (K(D) > 1.57 x 10(-9) M) by usage of V(H)186.2 as well as noncanonical V(H)7183 regions. Ganp(Tg) also generated exceptionally high-affinity anti-HIV-1 (V3 peptide) mAbs (K(D) > 9.90 x 10(-11) M) with neutralizing activity. These results demonstrated that GANP is involved in V region alteration generating high-affinity Ab.     

Role of Lipase Activators Produced by Saccharomycopsis lipolytica and Calcium Ion in Its Lipase Reaction

Lipase activator activated the reaction by Saccharomycopsis lipolytica lipase at neutral pH in the presence of calcium ions, and 5 μg of the activators were sufficient to cause the reaction to proceed at maximum activity in the presence of 2 μl of tributyrin and 0.4 units of the lipase in a total volume of 360 μl.

To define the roles of the activator and calcium ion, we studied interactions between the activator and the lipase, between the activator and a hydrophobic interface, and between the lipase and the interface. Results suggest that the interfacial adsorption of the lipase is the limiting process of lipolysis and that it is controlled by the activator and by the concentration of calcium ions.     

Formation of 3-Ethylsalicylic Acid from 3-Ethyltoluene by Pseudomonas ovalis

Equimolar aqueous solutions of d-glucose and n-butylamine were heated at 95°C for various times at pH 4, 6.5 and 11.48. The resulting brown solutions were extracted with ether. The volatile components in the ether extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, with a fused silica capillary column. The major components formed were identified as three alcohols, four N-butylpyrroles, N-butylacetamide, N-butylformamide, N-butylsuccinimide, one pyranone and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural. In addition, eleven minor components were also identified. The relative amount of each component changed markedly with pH. At pH 4.0, higher-boiling heterocyclic compounds without C-C fission of glucose were largely formed, and at pH 11.48, lower-boiling fission compounds were mainly formed. Both were observed in the reaction at pH 6.5.     

Isolation and Identification of Lipase Activators from Saccharomycopsis lipolytica

Three types of lipase activators (α, β, γ) were isolated from the culture broth of Saccharomycopsis lipolytica using high performance liquid chromatography. Activator γ was the most active for the lipase reaction. One of them (β) was identified with a mixture of 3,5-dihydro xy-7-tetradecenoic acid and related compounds by the method of NMR and GC-MS analyses. The free carboxyl group in the compounds was essential for the activation of the lipase reaction.     

Cloning and expression of a β-galactosidase gene of Bacillus circulans

A gene of β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382 was cloned and sequenced on the basis of N-terminal and internal peptide sequences isolated from a commercial enzyme preparation, Biolacta(?). Using the cloned gene, recombinant β-galactosidase and its deletion mutants were overexpressed as His-tagged proteins in Escherichia coli cells and the enzymes expressed were characterized.     

A decreasing tendency for cytogenetic abnormality in peripheral lymphocytes of retinoblastoma patients with 13q14 deletion mosaicism

Summary A significant decrease in the proportion of 13q14-deleted cells over a 9-month period was observed in a boy with retinoblastoma and 13q14 deletion mosaicism. To evaluate whether this phenomenon is generally the case, the bloods of three retinoblastoma patients with 13q14 deletion mosaicism reported in 1981 and 1982 were reexamined. A significant decrease in the proportion of abnormal cells was observed in three of four patients including the present case, suggesting that a 13q14 deletion mosaicism might disappear with age in some individuals.     

Comparison of starch hydrolysis activity and thermal stability of two Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylases and insights into engineering alpha-amylase variants active under acidic conditions

Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase (BLA) is widely used in various procedures of starch degradation in the food industry, and a BLA species with improved activity at higher temperature and under acidic conditions is desirable. Two BLA species, designated as PA and MA, have been isolated from the wild-type B. licheniformis strain and a mutant strain, respectively. In this study, their starch-hydrolysis activity and thermal stability were examined. MA showed higher activity than PA, especially at acidic pH (pH 5.0-5.5), and even after 1 h of treatment at 90 degrees C. MA was active in the range of pH 4.0-8.0, which is much wider than that (pH 4.5-7.5) of PA. It was shown that the proton dissociation constants on the acidic and alkaline sides (pKa1 and pKa2) were shifted to more acidic and basic values, respectively, by the mutation of PA to MA. The activation energy and thermodynamic parameters for their thermal inactivation indicate that MA is more thermally stable and catalytically active than PA, suggesting that MA could be useful for glucose-production process coupled with reactions catalyzed by beta-amylase.     

Blockade of the ERK pathway markedly sensitizes tumor cells to HDAC inhibitor-induced cell death

Constitutive activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway is associated with the neoplastic phenotype of a large number of human tumor cells. Although specific blockade of the ERK pathway by treating such tumor cells with potent mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitors completely suppresses their proliferation, it by itself shows only a modest effect on the induction of apoptotic cell death. However, these MEK inhibitors markedly enhance the efficacy of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors to induce apoptotic cell death: such an enhanced cell death is observed only in tumor cells in which the ERK pathway is constitutively activated. Co-administration of MEK inhibitor markedly sensitizes tumor cells to HDAC inhibitor-induced generation of reactive oxygen species, which appears to mediate the enhanced cell death induced by the combination of these agents. These results suggest that the combination of MEK inhibitors and HDAC inhibitors provides an efficient chemotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of tumor cells in which the ERK pathway is constitutively activated.     

Acid-stable α-Amylase of Black Aspergilli

The amino acid compositions of the acid-stable α-amylase and the acid-unstable α-amylase obtained from Aspergillus niger were determined by automatic column chromatography. The amino acid composition of the acid-unstable α-amylase was very similar to that of the α-amylase of Aspergillus oryzae. The amino acid composition of the acid-stable α-amylase was also similar in most part, but differed from that of the acid-unstable α-amylase in the following features, (a) The lysine content was lower, (b) Although the totals of carboxyl and amide were almost equal, there were considerably more free carboxyl residues, (c) The serine content was higher, (d) The proline content was lower. These facts may be related to the lower isoelectric point (pH 3.44) of the acid-stable α-amylase.

Amino-terminal amino acid analysis demonstrated one mole of amino-terminal leucine or isoleucine per mole of the acid-stable α-amylase and one mole of amino-terminal alanine per mole of the acid-unstable α-amylase.